When Should We Prefer Tort Law to Environmental Regulation?

18 Pages Posted: 26 Sep 2001

See all articles by Keith N. Hylton

Keith N. Hylton

Boston University - School of Law

Date Written: 2001

Abstract

This paper, prepared for the 2001 Washburn Torts Seminar, argues that tort law has some properties that make it superior to statute-based regulatory schemes as a system of environmental protection. In particular, two arguments, one based on enforcer-malfeasance and one based on information, suggest that tort law is preferable to statutory regulation. I sketch these arguments and apply them to nuisance law. The result is a set of conditions or rules-of-thumb for determining where tort law is preferable to environmental regulation. The framework implies that emission standard regulation can and should be implemented without preempting nuisance law.

Suggested Citation

Hylton, Keith N., When Should We Prefer Tort Law to Environmental Regulation? (2001). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=285264 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.285264

Keith N. Hylton (Contact Author)

Boston University - School of Law ( email )

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